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Ring us. Don’t email.
A database failure never happens at a convenient time. Users can’t get at information, reports stop running, orders can’t be processed, and operations slow down or stop completely.
The immediate problem is usually simple: you need the system working again.
You don’t need to know what’s wrong
Most support providers want to know exactly what technology you’re running before they’ll help.
Real emergencies aren’t like that. What you know is:
- The system has stopped
- Data is missing
- Users can’t connect
- Reports are failing
- Performance has collapsed
- The application keeps crashing
What you probably don’t know is whether the problem is in the database, the application, the server, the network, the integration or the reporting layer.
That’s fine. Working that out is the job, and it’s usually the first ten minutes of the call.
Have this ready and we can start straight away
- What’s happened, when it started, and what users are seeing. Recent changes matter most — an update, a deployment, a restart, something somebody did on Friday.
- Remote access. One download, no installation → remote support
- Someone who can authorise us to connect. We need permission in writing before we touch a live system, and an email during the call is enough.
- A purchase order or order reference, if your organisation needs one. We’d rather sort that afterwards than hold up the fix.
And whatever else happens — stop anyone using it, and take a copy of whatever you can before anyone tries a repair.
What we get called about
The database has failed. Corruption, connectivity, a failed update, errors nobody can interpret.
The database is fine but the application isn’t. More common than people expect. We look at both and work out where the fault actually sits.
An inherited system has stopped. Written years ago by someone unreachable, with no documentation. Finding somebody who can understand it quickly becomes the whole problem.
Performance has collapsed. A system can become unusable long before it stops. Data growth, a query that’s tipped over, blocking, or infrastructure that’s run out of headroom.
Reports have stopped, or the data’s wrong. When the numbers stop being trustworthy, decisions stop being made — which is its own kind of outage.
It won’t come back after a change. An upgrade, a migration, a server move, a Windows update, a network change.
What happens when you ring
1. Understand the situation. What’s happened, what users are experiencing, which business processes are affected, what systems are involved, and what’s at risk right now.
2. Stabilise it. The first objective is getting the business operating again — which may mean a temporary fix, a workaround or a partial recovery rather than the perfect answer at 4pm on a Friday.
3. Find the root cause. Once the pressure’s off: what caused it, whether data integrity has been affected, what risk remains, and what it takes to stop it happening again.
4. Plan the next step. Emergencies usually reveal something larger. Where it’s useful we’ll help with ongoing support, documentation, upgrades or a proper review — and where it isn’t, we’ll say so.
You’ll get a straight answer early about whether this is a short fix or a long one.
Out of hours
⚠️ Needs CDE’s answer before publishing — there’s real demand behind it, see notes.
Databases don’t fail during office hours. They fail during the overnight run, at 6am before the first shift, and over bank holiday weekends.
[CDE to confirm: standard hours, whether out-of-hours cover exists, whether it’s an arrangement or ad-hoc, and what response to expect.]
What we support
Microsoft Access databases · SQL Server environments · MySQL · bespoke business applications · operational and departmental systems · legacy databases · integrated reporting platforms · inherited software nobody has documentation for.
If the software supports an important business process, we’ll work on understanding the issue first and the technology second.
If you already know what it is: emergency SQL Server support · emergency Access support
If data is corrupt or missing: database recovery and data rescue
If it can wait until tomorrow: database support — same people, no premium.
Most people stay
Plenty of our clients first rang us in an emergency.
They stayed because what they actually needed wasn’t a fix — it was someone who’d still be there, who knows the system, and who can be rung before the next thing becomes a crisis.
Getting the database running again is the immediate job. Getting you to a point where you trust the system again is the real one.
Case studies
Aire Valley Catering: four mobile apps, an Access business system, and engineers with no signal
Engineers working on customer sites across the UK can't count on having a signal, and the job still has to be recorded. Four production apps across both app stores, an Access and SQL Server business system behind them, and a roadmap that keeps offline working rather than trading it away.
View case study →Recovering audit and customer data across multiple corrupt SQL databases
Several customer databases became damaged and wouldn't open, putting audit records, operational data and customer information at risk of permanent loss. A structured recovery programme rebuilt usable datasets from the corrupt files and returned multiple customer systems to service.
View case study →ACC Worldwide: a faster SQL Server platform, noticed on day one
A business-critical system was working but slow, and staff felt it every day. Work on the SQL Server environment behind it delivered an immediate speed increase, and left ACC's own IT team with the logging and monitoring tools to keep developing it.
View case study →all case studies
Ring 0114 249 1036
If it's urgent, phone. Tell us what's stopped and what changed — you don't need to know which part is broken. If it can wait until the morning, send the details and we'll pick it up then.
Send us the details →
Database Support →
Ring 0114 249 1036
If it's urgent, phone. Tell us what's stopped and what changed — you don't need to know which part is broken. If it can wait until the morning, send the details and we'll pick it up then.
Send us the details → Database Support →